So, really, what is a life coach?

What can you expect from a qualified life coach?

If you are committed to bringing out the very best in yourself, you may be considering working with a coach.

Coaching can be valuable when you are ready to put time and energy into making changes. Many people are familiar with life coaches now, but the term ‘coach’ is still often associated with a sports coach.

What is a life coach?

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines a coach as:

Someone whose job is to train and organise a sports team.
Someone whose job is to teach people to improve at a sport, skill or school subject.
It gives the example of a tennis or maths coach.

A life coach does not teach

Are you surprised?

A sports coach provides advice, mentoring, training, encouragement and discipline to help an athlete improve their performance. The coach is usually skilled in the sport and may be an expert.

A life coach, whose remit may include coaching in relation to life, relationships, communication, career, leadership, well-being, finances and more, does not usually provide direct advice or discipline. Instead, a life coach facilitates a collaborative process that enables the client to work towards goals or make changes using their own knowledge, values and ideas.

Coaching in areas such as health or finance is not a substitute for medical, therapeutic, legal or regulated financial advice.

For those new to coaching, this may sound particularly strange or like hard work. Clients may tell you, however, that the time and energy they put in are well worth it.

Expert facilitation

Unlike a sports coach, a life coach is not usually an expert in a client’s profession or specialist field. They are skilled at facilitating a coaching process that enables you to think differently, explore opportunities, examine barriers, get unstuck, build confidence, take control and much more.

If you engage a coach, you’ll need to know that your coach is not necessarily a trainer who will tell you what to do or learn. A coach is also not a counsellor, and coaching is not therapy, although some clients may find the experience personally supportive.

It is, however, about you – all of you. Your coach works from the position that you can develop your own answers. If this sounds strange, don’t worry; when you experience coaching, it may become clearer.

Your coach can act as a catalyst, helping you reach those answers in alignment with your values, standards, boundaries and dreams. They support and guide you through coaching techniques and tools, motivation and encouragement. Your coach should also explain how confidentiality works, including any limits, at the beginning of your work together.

In summary, a professional life coach:

• Provides a private and supportive space for you to be yourself, with clear confidentiality arrangements.
• Promotes a process that can act as a catalyst for the change you seek.
• Facilitates a process to help you work towards your goals.
• Supports you in a collaborative manner.
• Motivates you along the way.
• Challenges you to move forward in ways you have agreed.
• Guides you through coaching techniques.
• Helps you explore the barriers you are facing.
• Helps you identify steps that may get you unstuck.
• Champions new, helpful behaviours.
• Supports you to increase your confidence, motivation, efficiency and action.
• Helps you explore your potential in different areas of life and work.

A coach works to bring out the best in you. They work in partnership with you to define your goals clearly and identify manageable steps that may help you get there. So, why not find your life coach today?